Reporting flu – tell the story don’t create fear…
“Flu cases jump by 256% in just five years” screams a newspaper headline from the Daily Mercury, a paywalled News Corp publication. It sure seems like scary stuff doesn’t it? Read More …
Category: Influenza
Flu vaccination and effective communication…
A brief article about influenza (flu) vaccination appeared in the Conversation on Tuesday night. The piece, entitled “The flu vaccine is being oversold – it’s not that effective“, states that we Read More …
The forgotten benefits of the flu vaccine…
A…surprising…article about influenza (flu) vaccination appeared in the Conversation today. The piece, entitled “The flu vaccine is being oversold – it’s not that effective“, tells us that we are being given Read More …
Is increased testing at the root of Australia’s biggest ever first quarter of Flu cases…?
I’ve seen some media reporting an “early start to the flu season”. Is this true? The short answer is – I don’t know. Let’s explore why I can’t answer my Read More …
Flu vaccines and children: coming free to most Australian States and Territories in 2018
UPDATE #2. Back in October 2017, Queensland Health, Queensland Government (Australia) held a summit following on from our horrendous year of influenza.[1] One of the announcements associated with that summit Read More …
Flu numbers from the US…Peaky McPeakFace
This year’s annual influenza (flu)Â H3N2Â epidemic in the United States (US) has peaked. It’s been a big season in the US and the United Kingdom and in Canada, as it was Read More …
Flu may not be peaking even if it looks like it is right now…and here’s why
The United State’s (US) influenza (Flu) season looks like it has peaked according to the latest Flu report.[1] And perhaps it has. But the graphs are only as solid as Read More …
Where is H7N9 in 2018?
I’ve been watching avian influenza A(H7N9) virus cases in humans since they popped onto the radar in 2013 (it was among my first blogs, “H7N9 deaths” [1]). So I’m confident when Read More …
Influenza type B viruses passes the baton to type A viruses in China…
What starts out as an influenza (Flu) A/H3N2 season may end up being a Flu B/Yamagata season. Or vice versa. Or with different players altogether. Flu is tricksy. We see Read More …
Second human influenza A/H7N9 case for 2017/8 season…
It’s been a very slow start to the H7N9 season (=spillovers from infected poultry to susceptible humans) in China. Why it’s been so slow is unclear. The Hong Kong (HK) Centre for Read More …
Influenza virus transmission: with or without symptoms, you’re dropping Flu virus
Influenza viruses infect our cells, but cell entry alone does not result in influenza (the disease). What happens after our cells get infected can depend on quite a few things. Read More …
Flu is a slippery virus, a tough vaccine target and a challenge to contain…
Much was made of a regrettable interview earlier in the week about the Australian equivalent Flu vaccine. Some of the headlines included… “Cut-price flu jabs too weak to work” “Cheaper Read More …
Flu has long been associated with death in younger adults: it is known
A very short post just to highlight that younger adults have been linked to Flu deaths for many years. This is still far less often than occurs among the elderly Read More …
Influenza on the brain….
Influenza, (Flu), caused by influenza viruses, is what we all think of as a respiratory disease. It can cause acute mild upper respiratory tract illness. It can cause acute severe Read More …
Talking Flu to a wider audience: some measures of impact
We keyboard warriors love to talk into our echo chambers, shill our bigPharma ideas to pay the rent on our Bell 429WLG and generally hear ourselves think out loud. So Read More …